SpookySwap: The Wrong Pool Costs More Than Fees
SpookySwap is a non-custodial decentralized exchange (DEX): a wallet-connected market whose smart contracts execute swaps without taking custody of your funds. The useful answer is not whether its advertised fee is low, but whether its chain, pool and product fit your trade. In the latest snapshot, it held $632,190 and processed $311,088 in spot volume over 30 days. That scale suits careful, chain-specific use—not blind reliance on the brand.
Four chains explain why one SpookySwap number misleads
Total value locked (TVL) is the dollar value of assets deposited in a protocol’s smart contracts. SpookySwap’s aggregate TVL hides a sharp split between where liquidity sits and where trading occurs.
| Network | TVL | Share of TVL | 30-day spot volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantom | $558,485 | 88.3% | $81,093.92 |
| Sonic | $51,807 | 8.2% | $229,988.52 |
| BitTorrent Chain | $21,898 | 3.5% | — |
| Horizen EON | $0 | 0% | — |
The important comparison is Sonic: it holds only 8.2% of TVL but generates about 74% of spot volume. Fantom has the deeper balance sheet but less recent turnover. Choose the network based on the token pair and current route, not on SpookySwap’s combined total. A dash means the current dashboard split reports no volume for that chain during the window; it does not prove permanent inactivity.
0.01% is the floor, not the SpookySwap fee
SpookySwap has two relevant swap models. V2 uses traditional automated-market-maker pools, where a formula prices trades against shared reserves, and charges a flat 0.2%. V3 uses concentrated liquidity: liquidity providers place funds inside selected price ranges, and each pool chooses its own tier.
| Product | Published pool fee | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| V2 | 0.2% | One fee rate for the pool model |
| V3 | 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30% or 1% | The pool or route determines the rate |
| Any transaction | Network gas | Paid separately in the chain’s native token |
On a $1,000 trade, 0.2% is $2 before gas. A 1% V3 pool fee is $10. The lowest tier can therefore be the wrong choice if it has shallow liquidity and creates more price impact—the loss caused by your order moving the pool price. Slippage is different: it is the allowed difference between the quoted and executed price. Review both before signing. V3 documentation also permits a protocol share of up to 15% of the pool fee, depending on the pool’s settings.
$415.87 in fees produced only $19.91 of protocol revenue
Fees are what traders pay. Protocol revenue is the portion retained by SpookySwap after amounts directed to liquidity providers and other participants. Over the latest 30-day period, the protocol recorded $415.87 in fees but $19.91 in revenue—about 4.8% of the fees collected.
The annualized figures are $14,562.87 in fees and $676.91 in revenue. Annualized means the recent run rate is multiplied across a year; it is not a forecast. The protocol’s tracked treasury was $3,535.09, including only $0.47 in stablecoins. Those figures do not measure safety, solvency or BOO’s value, but they do show why TVL alone cannot establish economic strength.
$0.00409 BOO makes liquidity the larger risk
BOO is SpookySwap’s native token. CoinGecko’s current reading places it at about $0.00409, with 7.259 million tokens circulating, a market capitalization near $29,693 and only $3.69 in tracked 24-hour trading volume. Its recorded all-time high was $0.2915, leaving the token about 98.6% below that peak.
Market capitalization is the token price multiplied by circulating supply. It is not the same as TVL, daily trading activity or cash held by the protocol. At this volume, a displayed BOO price may be a weak guide for a real order: a modest transaction can move the market substantially. Treat BOO as a volatile governance and ecosystem asset, not as proof that the exchange has deep liquidity.
Seven checks belong before the first swap
Use this order if you are starting without a wallet or network balance:
- Install a compatible self-custody wallet.
- Select the network holding the tokens you intend to trade.
- Fund the wallet with the input token and enough native gas currency.
- Open the official SpookySwap app.
- Choose the input token, output token and correct network.
- Compare the route, pool fee, price impact, slippage, minimum received and gas estimate.
- Approve the token, then confirm the swap and verify its transaction status.
An approval gives the exchange contract permission to spend a token; it is separate from the swap itself. Never approve an unknown token contract or sign a transaction whose network, recipient or amount differs from your intended trade. Bridging between networks adds another smart-contract interaction and another failure point, so acquire the destination chain’s gas token before moving funds.
$495,875 on Shadow shows who should use something else
SpookySwap is the wrong tool for a large Sonic order when execution quality matters more than access to its interface. A recent dashboard snapshot gives Shadow Exchange, another Sonic DEX, $3.09 million in TVL, $23.16 million in 30-day spot volume and $495,875 in 24-hour volume. SpookySwap’s corresponding Sonic figures are $51,807 TVL, $229,989 in 30-day volume and $3,165 in 24-hour volume. The snapshots can move, but the liquidity gap is material.
Use a deeper Sonic venue or a DEX aggregator when the same token pair is available there. Use a centralized exchange if you need custody, fiat deposits or a simpler recovery process. Use a dedicated perpetuals platform if leverage is the goal: SpookySwap’s latest 30-day perpetual volume was only $4,178 and open interest was reported at $0.
SpookySwap fits a user who already understands self-custody, has selected the right network, is trading a liquid pair and will inspect the live quote. It does not fit someone who wants one universal price across four chains, guaranteed liquidity, custodial protection or passive yield without smart-contract and market risk.
